Monday, May 23, 2011

We Will Have Beans this Summer

I have an excuse for not writing for awhile...and it's a good one....I've been busy.

Here are the beans that escaped the marauding herds of voracious pill bugs (rollypollys, sow bugs...whatever...those little guys can eat!). I've replanted this spot twice and another one 3 times (it is now the pumpkin bed).

Up against the fence in this same bed are the transplanted olallieberries that a friend gave us this winter. I'm assuming the harvest will improve in the coming years:)

Edit~ I was asked what an olallieberry was (we've always just considered them a blackberry) and I found this definition.

Genetically, an Olallieberry is approximately two-thirds Blackberry and one-third European Red Raspberry. The Olallieberry was developed in 1949 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture at Oregon State University by crossing a Loganberry with a Youngberry. While primarily developed in Oregon, it has never been very productive there and is primarily grown in California. Because the olallieberry has blackberry on both sides of its parentage, it exhibits many of the same flavor characteristics of the blackberry. However, olallieberries are much larger in size and generally are sweeter than blackberries grown under the same conditions.

Not much works on those little buggers so far Maybelline, altho the beer traps did kill some of them. I've also been sprinkling diatomacious earth on areas where the most attractive crops are (they sure love beans!)We primarily deal with the issue by over-planting the seeds and just hoping that there are enough to compensate for all the ones that will get chomped on. Since they are only vulnerable for a week or so, this usually works (emphasis on USUALLY).

...and I forgot about the birds...tho we just have the one berry this year:)

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This is Who We Are

Steve and I have started a new undertaking towards sustainable living....'renting' land in exchange for veggies. Our home garden is simply not big enuf to support our family of 6 very hungry people and with several trees in the yard to help us get thru the 'hell' we call summer in the Central Valley of California we can only cultivate so much of our city lot ...is a town of 10,000 officially a city?

Follow us on our adventures in gardening in our lovely neighbor Joyce's yard. Our desire is to become strangers to the checkout gals at the grocery store.